Christophe Dufresnes

My research primarily involves phylogeography and population genetics of amphibians with focuses on biogeography, speciation and conservation.

During my PhD at the DEE with N. Perrin, I have studied the European radiation of tree frogs (Hyla sp.), notably to understand the mechanisms preventing their Y chromosome to degenerate, as it does in mammals. I am now conducting a FNS-funded post-doc with R. Butlin at the University of Sheffield (UK) on the genomic bases of speciation in European amphibians via the study of hybrid zones.

In parallel, I am involved in many conservation genetic projects on amphibians and other endangered animals. Activities include uncovering and mapping cryptic species and diversity, tracing regional connectivity, understanding the impact of hybridization by invasive species, etc. I am actively collaborating with L. Fumagalli at the Laboratory for Conservation Biology, as well as S. Dubey (karch Vaud) for some of these projects.